Is it Mobile or Mobil?

After my field trip to St Augustine, FL, I dragged myself out of bed at 5:00 am to be able to shower for my trip to Mobile, AL. It is Easter week-end; the most Holy of all weekends for the Christian populous and I am on my way to a leadership conference to judge artwork of school-aged children. I was not happy about the timing. I was not happy about the early departure. I was not a happy camper. I tend to get crabby when I am tired, hungry and just inconvenienced in general. (I am so spoiled)

Why was I doing this? Several months before, I had "volunteered" to help some children at church write essays for a pre-convention event, not totally realizing that I would be going there and the actual date of the event. It took 8 hours to finally get to Mobile. I had anticipated a leisurely afternoon with a swim, some reading while getting the "rays" by the pool, great dinner and to be ready for the judging the next day. THIS IS "NOT EXACTLY" how it happened.

The hotel, formerly part of the Adam's Mark chain, was under renovation. (Need I say more?) The whole 4th floor was closed - due to renovation - the pool area was included. The parking garage was closed- due to renovation - so I had to park in a municipal parking area around the block. The entrances from the parking garage were closed - due to renovation - I had to drag my "stuff" around, across and up and down from the parking area. AND, if that wasn't enough the Dinner hour was at 5:30 and I had a meeting then, that I had not known about. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.

I TOTALLY needed an attitude adjustment. You see, when I was younger and "stupider" this type of thing would have allowed me to stay angry for days. God has shown me that it is without a doubt, the dumbest thing I can do to let circumstances affect my attitude and how I treat other people. I needed to get alone with God and get ME straightened out.

My personality is a lot like my birth sign, the crab. I retreat, recollect my thoughts, and then come back out with a better perspective on everything. God has shown me that I am so much better off then and I don't have to apologize for all the nastiness I do and say. So, I took a shower and found a bar area in the hotel that would give us something to eat. It's amazing how much better I felt after that.

The first picture is out our room window of the harbor @ Mobile. Not a bad view, huh? It was actually very interesting. On one side there was the Convention Center, which you can see the top of in the bottom lefthand corner of this picture. To the right, there is a cruise ship in the harbor, docked for boarding.

We are so fortunate with our weather. We had totally great weather both driving days. In addition to this picture, below you can see a picture of our room, which wasn't all that bad either.

I was able to be home fairly early last night; got a good nights sleep, and up in time for church this morning.

I am truly grateful for my blessings. On this Christian High Holy Day, I am especially thankful for my family, my home and my church. God is very good to me.